Re-reading a newspaper article that I wrote at the start of the pandemic about how Marcus Aurelius used Stoicism, in the Meditations, to cope with the Antonine Plague. It struck me that, in part at least, the Meditations can be seen as Marcus’ notes to himself on coping with the psychological and moral challenges of the plague — or, if you like, as a manual for coping Stoically during a pandemic.Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Highlights* How Marcus used Stoicism to cope with his own pandemic* The Dichotomy of Control* Modelling virtue* Contemplating our own mortalityOriginal article titled Stoicism in a Time of Pandemic, from The Guardian newspaper, April 2020.Thank you for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life. This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life at donaldrobertson.substack.com/subscribe

This podcast episode contains the audio recording from a conversation about Marcus Aurelius, which I had with Markus Wachter, the CEO of the Carnuntum Archeological Park, at the Museum Carnuntinum, in 2019. I was visiting Austria for around a week, doing research for my books on Marcus Aurelius. The audio was recorded live in the main hall of the reconstructed Roman villa in the archeological park, hence the acoustics. Marcus stationed himself at the Roman legionary fortress of Carnuntum, for part of the Marcomannic Wars. He included the note “At Carnuntum” near the start of the Meditations, proving that he must have written at least part of the manuscript there.Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Thanks to Landessammlungen Niederösterreich, Archäologischer Park Carnuntum for permission to film, and to Adam Piercey for filming and editing. You can also watch the video hosted on Substack.Thank you for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life. This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life at donaldrobertson.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, I chat with Massimo Pigliucci, Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York, part of the team responsible for the Modern Stoicism organization, and author of several books on philosophy, including How to be a Stoic and, more recently, The Quest for Character: What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches us about Our Search for Good Leaders.  Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Topics covered include…* How Massimo first got into philosophy, and into Stoicism * What he learned from writing How to be a Stoic* How he has changed his mind about aspects of Stoicism* The Modern Stoicism org and the modern resurgence of interest in Stoicism? * Why doesn’t there seem to be as much interest in Epicureanism or other ancient schools of philosophy among the general public? * What's The Quest for Character about? * Why write about Socrates and Alcibiades? * What potential do you think Socrates saw in Alcibiades? * What do you think Alcibiades’ biggest flaws were and what was his biggest mistake in life? * Would it have turned out differently if a Stoic like Epictetus had been Alcibiades’ tutor? * To what extent good character, or virtue, can be taught* How we could be doing a better job of teaching virtue today Thank you for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life. This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life at donaldrobertson.substack.com/subscribe

Tim LeBon, cognitive-behavioural psychotherapist, discusses the relationship between Stoicism and CBT, recent advances in third-wave CBT, and what he has learned as research director with Modern Stoicism. He also introduces his book '365 Ways to be More Stoic', debunking stoic myths and offering daily readings and success stories for applying stoic principles in modern life.

This is an audio recording of me explaining, and demonstrating, how to use a very simple but powerful psychological technique, which I call imaginal aphasia. It derives from an old hypnotic technique called hypnotic aphasia, and involves speaking (e.g., counting) aloud while gradually fading your voice to silence, and imagining that it’s becoming more and more of an effort to pronounce the syllables. You’re doing this both externally and internally, i.e., in your outward behaviour but also in your imagination, in order to relax and silence your mind.This technique is pretty easy for most people to learn and because it’s a physical behaviour, it seems to exhibit a standard practice curve effect, i.e., it becomes quicker and easier to do with practice. However, I would advise against individuals with diagnosable psychiatric conditions using it, except perhaps under the supervision of a qualified mental health clinician. For ordinary (subclinical) anxiety and insomnia, though, I think this may be helpful as a coping strategy.Let me know your feedback in the comments, and if you think of any other ways in which it could be useful. Thank you for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life. This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life at donaldrobertson.substack.com/subscribe

My wife, Kasey Robertson, writes under the pen name Kasey Pierce. I thought it would be pretty interesting to interview her about her writing. You can follow herKasey Piercenewsletter on Substack. Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Links mentioned* Kasey’s Amazon author page* 365 Ways to be More Stoic (Harbinger)* Kasey on Medium* Kasey’s Twitter and InstagramThank you for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life. This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life at donaldrobertson.substack.com/subscribe

This is a new audio recording of an article I published on Medium about the Stoic contemplation of death. The photo shows me outside the ruined Temple of Hades at the ancient site of Eleusis near Athens. Get full access to Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life at donaldrobertson.substack.com/subscribe

People keep asking me for advice about simple ways they can begin practicing Stoicism in daily life. This audio recording is based on my recent Medium article of the same name. It contains three basic Stoic strategies, which provide a good foundation for following Stoic philosophy in the modern world. Get full access to Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life at donaldrobertson.substack.com/subscribe